oh ayiti cherie.

i am constantly amazed by haiti & all this country has to offer. i love going & doing missions & sharing jesus  & receiving jesus from so many BUT i also LOVE trying new food, meeting new people, visiting new places, & diving deeper into the culture. i feel like if i know more about the culture & the people i can better reach them & can better receive from them. because when you go to haiti its not just about  giving - you receive so much more than you could ever give. i learn to be humble. i learn that i don't know everything. i learn to love more. i learn to love deeper. i learn to trust God on a completely different level. i learn so much more than i give. i learn that a simple bracelet is literally the only thing that could have been given & that means the world to me. haiti really has changed my life. some would call me obsessed, i like to call myself passionate.

don't be mistaken. i would be ok with never driving through port-au-prince again. i would be ok with never eating a fish & being so sick i crapped myself & puked everywhere for hours. i would be ok with not being stuck in traffic for 4 hours & only going 4 miles. even with all these minor issues haiti will always have my heart. people ask me if i would live there & my answer is always a yes. i would. i think people have one picture in their mind of haiti & that is devastation. i really want to change that.

on our last trip we were able to take a day & go to one of the prettiest places ever- basin bleu. i get really excited about showing haiti off. so when i take people & i'm like '"oh my gosh, this place you guys is the best thing ever, you get to repel off of a rock, climb up a waterfall & jump into this beautiful blue water" i want people to be just as excited. so when this group saw basin bleu & they loved it too my little heart was so happy. this day was good. even with the fish market traffic. even with the random soccer game traffic. it was a much needed & good day.

we left at 5am & headed to our first stop. breakfast spaghetti. 

our tour guide, ricardo. he was so nice. he has been to california & lived there for a while. he went to school for communications & told me all sorts of facts. i did not know this but 15,000 people live at the top of the mountain where basin bleu is. 

its like a 30 minute hike.

we also went into this little cave. 

this is the rope you climb down. 

the first little spot, & when you jump in & swim over your see the waterfall. 

SO PRETTY!

you can see us climbing up & jumping into the water. guito had to show off & climb higher. 

alix finally got in. 

pretty nancy. we will teach her to swim in june!

guito trying to model. 

we cool. we cool. 

all of us- just missing kayla & kim. 

leaving basin bleu on the way to jacmel. you can see the ocean. so pretty. 

nancy & guito. the sidewalks are so pretty. 

diana & nancy. 

wa-wa & nancy. 

my beautiful mom. 

mom & i. 

my daughter grace & i. 

sweet tia. 

tia & nancy modeling in the trash. 

walking to eat. 

she really needs to stop being so pretty. 

we stopped by this little beach place to eat & there were these crazy statues. so we decided to take photos with them. 

love this girl & her adventurous spirit. she's my little gem.

really cool place we ate. 

mom & diana. 

my food. chicken. plantains & some really good sauce. 

mom, diana, & pastor jeanty (our driver & the best driver)

so pretty

wa-wa- he sure does look happy. he had a fever & did not feel well at all. 

the sweet couple. 

it was such a fun day. when you think of haiti think of beautiful mountains where you can see every detail. think of days when the dust is crazy & you can hardly see but you have the most amazing kid sitting in your lap showing you unconditional love & in that moment the last thing you think of is dust. think of basin bleu & this natural wonder that takes your breath away. think of this country where 50% of the population is children. that is not a bad thing that is an incredible thing. half of the population is our next leaders, teachers, preachers, kingdom shakers,  children who will change their country & the world. think of sitting down to a lunch with your haitian friends & trying new food together. learning about their culture. building relationships that will change your life. think about when a child gives you a bracelet it literally is the only thing they have to give. when they give you a photo someone has given them it is the only thing they have to give. when they tell you that you are their best friend it means so much. when they tell you that they love you they mean it. when they tell you that you are their brother or sister that is not something to take lightly. it means something. one thing i respect about this culture is they mean what they say. i love that. now, who wants to go to haiti?